The present invention relates generally to agricultural machinery and, more particularly, to a method and assembly for supporting an agricultural implement on an agricultural machine.
German Patent No. 199 18 551 discloses a generic agricultural harvesting machine which is designed as a forage harvester and which at the front has an intermediate attachment which receives an agricultural implement. So the load of the agricultural implement does not have to be supported exclusively via the front axle of the carrier vehicle, associated with the intermediate attachment are support wheels which make it possible for at least part of the mass of the agricultural implement to be supported during road transport. Thus the front axle of the carrier vehicle does not have to support the whole load of the agricultural implement. Adaptation of the support wheels to the intermediate attachment of the agricultural machine does however require considerable reinforcement of this intermediate attachment, because when travelling over uneven terrain considerable shock loads can arise and have to be absorbed by the intermediate attachment. Because the axles of the support wheels are arranged directly on the intermediate attachment of the agricultural harvesting machine, a vertical movement of the support wheels relative to this intermediate attachment is not possible. As a result, when the intermediate attachment is raised the load transmitted by the support wheels to the ground gradually decreases and becomes equal to zero the moment the support wheels have lost contact with the ground. The decrease in support function of the support wheels when the intermediate attachment is raised therefore requires, in spite of the support wheel assembly, dimensioning of the axles of the agricultural harvesting machine according to the maximum possible load.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and assembly for providing support for an agricultural implement carried on a receiving device of an agricultural machine.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a system whereby one support wheel provides load relief on the axles of an agricultural harvesting machine, resulting in the ability to construct machines having axles that are less materially-intensive and, therefore, less expensive to manufacture.
In accordance with the above, there is provided a method for providing support for an agricultural implement carried on a receiving device of an agricultural machine that includes the steps of providing at least one support wheel connected with the receiving device and adjusting the load on the support wheel. In a preferred embodiment, the method also includes the step of providing a wheel lifting cylinder associated with each support wheel and the step of adjusting the load on the support wheel includes adjusting the position of the support wheel with the wheel lifting cylinder. In another preferred embodiment, the method further includes the steps of measuring the loads on a drive axle and steering axle of the agricultural harvesting machine and the step of adjusting the load on the support wheel includes adjusting the load on the support wheel as a function of the loads on the drive axle and the steering axle.
A support wheel assembly for use with the disclosed method includes a support wheel and a wheel lifting cylinder connecting the support wheel with the receiving device, wherein the load on the support wheel is adjustable via the wheel lifting cylinder. In a preferred embodiment, the wheel lifting cylinder adjusts the support wheel in a generally vertical direction. In another preferred embodiment, the assembly includes load-sensing transducers associated with a drive axle and steering axle of the of the agricultural machine and at least one electronic calculating unit in communication with the first and second load-sensing transducers and wherein the electronic calculating unit generates a control signal as a function of the loads on the drive and steering axles.
These aspects are merely illustrative of the innumerable aspects associated with the present invention and should not be deemed as limiting in any manner. These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the referenced drawings.